Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Cádiz and the White Towns

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Tarifa beaches

No dogs on any beach in Tarifa's municipality, in any season, sand or sea. That's Los Lances, Valdevaqueros, Bolonia and the rest. It surprises people because the beaches are wild and empty in winter, but the rule doesn't change.

Cádiz city beaches

Dogs are off the city beaches from Palm Sunday to 30 September. From October to Palm Sunday they can walk on a lead on La Victoria, Cortadura, Santa María del Mar and La Caleta. The year-round option is the dog area at Torregorda, about 5 km south of the centre.

Other beaches

Rules are set town by town. Conil, next to Vejer, allows dogs on its urban beaches from 1 November to 30 April. For El Palmar, Zahara de los Atunes, Los Caños and Sotogrande, check the council's current rule before planning a beach day.

Weight limits

Fairmont La Hacienda takes one dog up to 8 kg, Fuerte Grazalema up to 15 kg, and the two Catalonia hotels in Ronda up to 20 kg. Hemingway, Molino del Arco and Hurricane don't publish a limit, so ring before you book with a bigger dog.

Fees and deposits

EUR 13 a night at Fuerte Grazalema, EUR 25 a night at the Catalonias and Molino del Arco, EUR 30 a night at Hurricane, and EUR 30 per stay at Hemingway. The Catalonias and Hurricane add a EUR 200 refundable deposit. Fairmont doesn't publish its fee.

Trains

On the Cercanías line between Cádiz and Jerez, dogs of any size travel free on a lead and muzzled, one per person. On AVE, Avlo and long-distance trains, dogs up to 10 kg go in a carrier no bigger than 60 x 35 x 35 cm, and dogs up to 40 kg can travel without one in the pet coach for EUR 40 extra, muzzled and on a short lead. Dogs under a year old are excluded.

Getting there

Jerez airport is ten minutes from Jerez and about 45 minutes from Cádiz, with Seville, Gibraltar and Málaga as the bigger options. From the UK with a dog, the practical route is the ferry from Portsmouth or Plymouth to Santander or Bilbao, then about ten hours' drive south.

Sights and restaurants

None of the headline sights publish a dog rule, so plan on your dog waiting outside the Cathedral in Cádiz, the Alcázar in Jerez, the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art and the Ronda bullring. Terraces are where dogs eat here. Indoors is the owner's call, so ask.

Best walks

In Ronda, the clifftop Paseo de Blas Infante and the Alameda del Tajo park on the new-town side, then across the Puente Nuevo, which carries a public street with pavements, and down the Camino de los Molinos from the old town to the viewpoints below the bridge. It's steep and unshaded, so go early in summer. In the sierra, the Llanos del Rabel trail starts just above Grazalema village. On the coast, the dog area at Torregorda south of Cádiz all year, the Cádiz city beaches on a lead from October, and the Guadiaro estuary and Sotogrande's marina promenade for flat walks near Fairmont La Hacienda.

When to go

Spring and autumn. July and August are very hot inland in Jerez, Arcos and Ronda, so walks belong to early morning and late evening. On the coast the levante wind can blow hard for days, which makes Tarifa and Zahara sandblasted and tiring for a dog. October onwards opens the Cádiz city beaches to dogs again, and Conil's urban beaches from November.